Bear and Son Smooth Bone Handle Bowie.
Aug 13, 2011 20:58:10 GMT
Post by Adrian Jordan on Aug 13, 2011 20:58:10 GMT
Hello all. I was delighted today to finally receive the Bear and Son Bowie knife I ordered a while ago. I gave my brother my $20 Winchester Bowie, shown here forum.sword-buyers-guide.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=4383 and I gave my mother my Elk Ridge knife, shown here, forum.sword-buyers-guide.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=4384, so I was on the lookout for a new Bowie. I found several, but wound up going with this one. It cost me $100.95 on Amazon with free shipping. I know that it could be had for cheaper at SMKW(cheapest), but there was a 4 to 6 week back order and I didn't want to wait. It is also had for less at KnifeCenter, but they also have a wait time. I love to explain the name of this knife, the "Smooth Bone" part always gets a reaction. I looked at many different companies; Muela, Ontario, Hen and Rooster, Schrade, Winchester, Colt, Ka-Bar, and several others, even(gulp) BudK. This one had most of what I wanted at a price I could afford.
Here are the numbers.
*Hollow ground high carbon stainless steel blade
*Smooth white bone handle
*Brass guard and double rivets
*8-3/8" blade length
*14-3/8" overall
*Leather belt sheath
Here are some pictures.
The blade. The polish is a bit uneven, though it doesn't come through in the pictures. The Bear and USA stamp are clearly visible.
Here are a few showing the tang and the sheath. The sheath is nice, but the stitching doesn't look as top-notch as I'd like.
Overall Thoughts:
This is a nice knife. I really like the handle, it is attractive, well carved and nicely polished. I mean this thing gleams. I gave the brass parts a going over with some Metal Glo and now they also have a nice shine. The blade has a brushed polish finish, not a mirrored one. The blade is also not very sharp. This blows, but can be fixed easily. The leather sheath is nice, but is not as well made as the one that came with my old Ka-Bar. It also leaves streaks on the blade, but they can be wiped off. The tang is truly full, with the bone scales riveted to the sides. There is no rattling or looseness anywhere on this knife. It's very solid. At $100.95 this is about $49 less than the price though the Bear and Son site. It can be had for $69.99 at SMKW + S/H and for $82.95 at KnifeCenter + S/H. There is also a Damascus blade version of this for quite a bit more, but I do not really like a Damascus style blade on my knives. While I could stand to have paid a little less than what I did, I do not regret it one bit. I'd give this knife a solid B+/A-. Slight points off for the "not dull but not sharp" blade and the slightly uneven polish. I haven't done any testing yet. I just got this in the mail about 45 minutes ago, so maybe later.
Thanks for reading this, and don't hesitate to ask anything or comment.
Here are the numbers.
*Hollow ground high carbon stainless steel blade
*Smooth white bone handle
*Brass guard and double rivets
*8-3/8" blade length
*14-3/8" overall
*Leather belt sheath
Here are some pictures.
The blade. The polish is a bit uneven, though it doesn't come through in the pictures. The Bear and USA stamp are clearly visible.
Here are a few showing the tang and the sheath. The sheath is nice, but the stitching doesn't look as top-notch as I'd like.
Overall Thoughts:
This is a nice knife. I really like the handle, it is attractive, well carved and nicely polished. I mean this thing gleams. I gave the brass parts a going over with some Metal Glo and now they also have a nice shine. The blade has a brushed polish finish, not a mirrored one. The blade is also not very sharp. This blows, but can be fixed easily. The leather sheath is nice, but is not as well made as the one that came with my old Ka-Bar. It also leaves streaks on the blade, but they can be wiped off. The tang is truly full, with the bone scales riveted to the sides. There is no rattling or looseness anywhere on this knife. It's very solid. At $100.95 this is about $49 less than the price though the Bear and Son site. It can be had for $69.99 at SMKW + S/H and for $82.95 at KnifeCenter + S/H. There is also a Damascus blade version of this for quite a bit more, but I do not really like a Damascus style blade on my knives. While I could stand to have paid a little less than what I did, I do not regret it one bit. I'd give this knife a solid B+/A-. Slight points off for the "not dull but not sharp" blade and the slightly uneven polish. I haven't done any testing yet. I just got this in the mail about 45 minutes ago, so maybe later.
Thanks for reading this, and don't hesitate to ask anything or comment.